ISIS Stages Mass Attacks (As in Brussels), and Small Ones (As in Bangladesh)

Hossain Ali was a Muslim; but in 1999, he and his family converted to Christianity, joining the local Presbyterian church in the Kurigram district of Bangladesh.

The 68-year-old Ali was out for his morning walk March 22, when three men, apparently Islamic radicals, rode up on motorbikes and began stabbing him. When neighbors tried to intervene and to tend to Ali’s multiple stab wounds, the attackers detonated two small homemade bombs. Hussain did not survive.

Forkan Al-Masih, pastor of the local Presbyterian church, told ucanews.com,

“He was a man of goodness and simplicity. We are still wondering why he should be targeted for such a heinous murder. We demand a thorough investigation and justice. We also want assurances the local Christian community is protected.”

The murder was strikingly similar to others in the Muslim-majority nation, in which individuals who do not subscribe to Islamic beliefs were targeted. Seven atheist bloggers, writers and publishers have been massacred since 2013, and al-Qaida has released a list of 20 bloggers who are slated for execution. One of the victims, U.S.-based Bangladeshi blogger and science writer Avijit Roy, was hacked to death on the street in Dhaka last year.

Also stabbed to death: a Shia cleric and a Hindu priest. And ucanews.com reports:

An Italian missionary Father Piero Parolari escaped death after being shot in Dinajpur, in northern Bangladesh on Nov. 18, while a Protestant minister Luke Sarkar also survived a murder attempt in Pabna district on Oct. 5.

On this Good Friday, as we remember the unjust murder of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, let us pray for those around the world who suffer at the hands of this cruel and unjust organization.

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